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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · prune · chair · degree · hand · rock · saw · pitcher

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. degree — an amount
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. spring — of water
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rock — music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. chair — a leader
  18. spring — the season
  19. prune — to trim
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. spring — a coil
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rock — a stone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com